Dark Moon Rising
by D-Chan3
Summary: Major OCC'ness. Usual disclaimers apply Something is stalking the streats of Nerima! One of the gang gets attacked! Uh oh...look out Ranma!Not a Sailor Moon xover!
1. Default Chapter

Dark Moon Rising

Prologue:

A lone traveler walked the streets of Nerima enjoying the peaceful air while heading for the safety of her home. She paused when a sudden foreboding feeling raced down her spine. Not liking the feeling, she glanced around nervously before continuing at a much faster pace. Suddenly an eerie howl rang through the night, startling her. "Oh my god….what the hell is that!" she gasped as her heart pounded in fear, quickening her pace, she knew that she had to reach home before what ever had made that noise decided to come after her.

Suddenly, a noise sounded in the alley ahead, followed by a loud panting. The girl gasped as a soda can came rolling out into the middle of the sidewalk. Glancing upward, she slowly backed away while peering into the darkness but found nothing. "Ah, it must be a rat or a dog…nothing to worry about. I'd better get home before I'm grounded," she said while sighing in relief. Turning she started walking again, never noticing the two glowing yellow eyes that stared hungrily at her.

Passing under a street lamp, the girl shivered as a chill ran up her spine. Nervously, she surveyed her surroundings, she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched from her consciousness. The clicking of claws on stone echoed through the quiet night followed by a growling sound that gained volume as it drew nearer. Suddenly, the shadow materialized in front of her, "Oh my god! What the hell is that thing!" she whispered as she backed away, fear icing her veins. She could only see an outline of the animal since it was hidden in the deep shadows. From what she could see of its basic outline, it was very large; larger than a Great Dane. One thing the girl knew was that she didn't want to be anywhere near something of that size, even though she'd seen animals larger than it in Reogonzawa.

The animal's glowing eyes followed every move she made as it crouched and then, faster than a normal animal could move, it lunged. Luckily, the girl had already whirled around and ran as if the hounds of hell were on her tail. Tears of fright streamed down her pale face as she desperately tried to escape. "Oh, Kami. Someone please help me," she sobbed as her feet pounded upon the paved sidewalk.

"Ah god, If I can just make it to Ucchans, I'll be safe...I've got to run faster or that thing will catch me," the girl thought when she saw a familiar intersection. But, just as she made it to the corner, she was suddenly slammed into the ground by something heavy. The force of the impact knocked her to the ground and forced precious air from her lungs and robbed her of breath to scream. In the time it took her to regain her senses, she could feel its heated breath on her neck before the pain struck as it savaged her shoulder. In her shock, it took a few more moments for the pain to register before she drew in enough breath to scream. But, when she did, it would chill anyone's blood when heard by human ears, "Ahhhhaaa!"

Blood flowed out of the wound as the thing clamped down harder, breaking her collar bone and then it raked its claws down her back. She screamed in fear and pain," Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!" before the loss of blood overwhelmed her and she fainted. Its mouth covered in blood and scenting a victory, the animal lifted its head and howled, "Awooooooooooooo!"

* * *

Not too far away and alerted by the noise, two police officers dashed to the sound of the screams. Quickly, they rounded the corner and beheld a scene straight from a horror movie. "Holy Shit! What the hell is that thing, Kosho!"

"I don't care, Nakura! Shoot it!" the second officer yelled, drawing his gun from its holster, he commenced firing rapidly.

Nakura didn't question his partners decision, he drew his own gun at the same time, and they both fired several rounds at the thing crouched over the unconscious body of a girl. The loud rapport of the guns broke the stillness of the night, and as the bullets impacted with the flesh of the animal it yelped, before it turned around and ran.

Quickly, the two officers ran towards the wounded girl. The officer who went by the name of, Kosho was closest to the girl, so he reached down and checked for a pulse while Nakura stood guard, incase the thing returned. _"Thank Kaimi, she's still alive!"_ Kosho thought as he drew in a relieved breath at the faint beat of a pulse under his fingertips. He had originally thought that the girl was dead, judging by how still she lay upon the ground. Turning his head, he yelled, "Nakura! Quick! Call an ambulance! She's alive!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

As the two officers waited for the ambulance, they failed to notice the creature returning. "Hey, Kosho, do you hear anything?" Nakura inquired, standing up, he pulled his gun and glanced around nervously.

"No. I...wait; I think there's something out there. Do you thing its come back?" Kosho asked as he leaned one arm on his raised knee; absently, he checked the girls pulse to monitor her condition. She seemed to be doing well for someone in her condition.

"Hell, I'm not taking any chances. That was no normal dog...I mean it was bigger than a wolf and as far as I know, the zoo hasn't lost any wolves lately." Nakura replied, his eyes repeatedly scanning the alleyways and sidewalks. With each noise that sounded in the darkness, he flinched and whirled to face the direction it had come from. He gulped and a bead of cold sweat ran down his temple. He had a really bad feeling about sticking around. "Hey, Kosho, I think we should take the girl to the hospital ourselves. I don't think it's a good idea to stay here. Ten people have been killed in incidents like this one. Ten people are too many for it to just be random attacks. Do you think that thing is responsible?"

"Relax. No, I don't think it was responsible for those attacks and we'll find out what ever is responsible for those deaths. It was only a stray dog. We scared it off so, I don't think it'll return," Kosho turned his eyes towards the girls wounds and gasped in surprise as right before his eyes, they began to heal at a rapid rate. "What the hell!" Turning, he yelled towards his partner, "Nakura, you've got to see this! I've never seen anyone heal this fast before!"

"What are you talking about, you moron?" Nakura growled.

"I'm telling you, her bite has totally disappeared!" Kosho answered his partner, pointing towards the wound.

"Hmm," Turning his attention from the previous sound that had drawn his attention. "Nakura knelt down to inspect the girl, however, that was the last mistake he would ever make as the thing that had attacked the girl, sprang from the darkness faster than the human eye could follow; tearing out his throat before it lunged for Kosho. "Oh my god! What the fuck is that thing?" Kosho muttered before his throat was torn out by the bloodied fangs of the beast. Neither had time to scream before their blood stained the walls of the ally.

Several hours later as the pre-light of dawn slowly crept is fingers across the sky, it met with the long figure of a girl as she slowly let herself into her home and closed the door. Even though she had been gone for most of the night and had been attacked, her wounds had miraculously healed. A bit dazed and disoriented, she made her way home with none the wiser.

Lying down, she signed quietly, closed her eyes and finally dreamt. As the morning wore on, her dreams were slowly filled with thoughts of moonlight nights and the pounding of her paws upon the moss covered earth and the blood of her kill, dripping from her fangs.

_Poor innocent child, _

_You roam the earth as night takes hold,_

_Moon song so strong, it pulls you towards its _

_grace, just for a chance to see its luminous face. _

_I long for the sight of you but, fear what I become. _

_I hunger for the blood of the innocent upon my _

_fangs. My soul cries out, but no one can hear me, _

_help me, _

_for I am damned. _

_Yet, I yearn for you my love, my soul mate. _

_Though denied, I am by my curse, we are linked._

_Your love will be my only saving grace as the _

_moon rises high and shows its luminous face._


	3. Chapter 4

Chapter 2.

Weeks passed by without a single incident. Akane and Ranma fought each morning. The other fiancés kept coming around even though they weren't invited. Kuno was beaten up by Ranma everyday and everyday they were late. So each and every day they were made to stand in the hall holding heavy buckets of water.

Each night, there were multiple reports of a beast roaming the Nerima ward. Many had tried to find it but, were unsuccessful. Each night, some of those who went out in search of the beast ended up becoming the prey and people continued dying. This put everyone on high alert, but that was normal for the people of Nerima as they were used to seeing strange monsters roam their district. This continued on until, finally, the killings stopped, the monster disappeared and everything returned to normal. Things resumed at a normal pace until a single month had finally passed.

"Ya missed me, old man!" Ranma yelled as he dodged a punch to his gut.

"Ba, I meant to miss you! Because that was just a distraction for my follow up move!" Genma yelled as despite his immense bulk, flipped onto his hands and whirled around so fast that Ranma's legs were swept out from under him.

"_How the hell was he able to move his fat lazy ass so fast!" _Ranma thought to himself while regaining his footing. Not two seconds later, he charged his father, and timing it just right, he kicked off into the air while extending his right leg. Genma grunted with the impact and was sent flying towards the Koi pond. He landed with a loud splash!

"What the hell stupid move was that pop!" Ranma yelled.

Genma emerged from the water and began to explain, "Bwar, bwa bwrrr, bwarbarrrr." Genma said while waving his furry paws in the air to make his point.

"Ya know…I can't understand a word yer saying, old man!" Ranma yelled, fuming.

Genma growled angrily before pouring hot water over his head, effectively changing back. Taking a step closer he pushed Ranma into the pond and yelled, "Stop your wining, you sound like a girl!"

"Why you!" Ranma-chan sputtered; hands fisted at her side in anger. Grinding her teeth, she growled, "Now your going to get a beatin!"

_**Whap!**_

_**Pow!**_

_**Thwap!**_

"Stupid old man," Ranma muttered to herself as she dusted her hands off and walked into the house, leaving a severely beaten sorry excuse of a father behind as she headed for the bathroom.

"Ranma! Hurry up or we'll be late for school," Akane yelled. "Oh, and don't forget that I have to go visit Mrs. Takachi to help her around the house after school!"

"Yeah, I remember," Ranma-chan muttered as she wrung out her pants above the bathroom sink.

Ten minutes later Ranma-kun came out of the bathroom and headed towards to breakfast room. "Hey Oji, leave some for me!" Ranma said as he sat down and started on his breakfast.

"Ranma, Akane, Nabiki, You better hurry or you'll be late for school," Kasumi said.

When all three heard that they took a look at the kitchen clock. "Oh my god! We're going to be late!" Akane yelled she leaped to her feet and grabbed the back of Ranma's shirt. Before the pigtailed boy could even finish his breakfast, he was dragged away from the table, chopsticks still in hand, "Hey! I wasn't finished!" he complained while regaining his feet.

Akane glared at him and for some unknown reason, she felt an urge to bare her teeth at him. Mustering her control, she narrowed her eyes, clenched her teeth and growled, "I...don't...care!" before grasping the front of his shirt and literally dragging him out the door. Ranma barely managed to grab his book bag and shoes before he left the front hall.

"Akane!" he yelped, "You can let go of me now! Geez! Can't a guy finish his breakfast?"

Growling low in her throat, Akane whirled and yelled, "Not when you make me late for school!"

"Stupid tomboy, we always make it on time!" Ranma argued back. He was completely frustrated because his stomach was still growling and he didn't get to finish his breakfast. His morning had started out abysmally with his father throwing a bucket of cold water on him before kicking him out the bedroom window. Luckily, Kasumi always left a steaming kettle of water on the porch for such occasions.

"Well, I want to make sure I'm on time this morning because we have a test!" Akane ground out as her frustration and anger mounted. She took a deep breath and clenched her fist around the handle of her briefcase to calm her nerves. Then, not saying another word, she stalked off towards school.

Ranma stared at her, completely puzzled at her odd behavior. It wasn't like Akane to just walk off like that. Usually, she punted him into the sky about now. But, she had never walked off like that, and to top it off, this had been going on all week. Shrugging his shoulders, he quickly jogged after her while yelling, "Hey! Wait up!"

As the school came into sight, both martial artists could see Kuno blocking the entrance. They were not surprised to find Kuno standing in front of the gates with a boken in hand. Both, Ranma and Akane groaned. "Geeze, Ranma said, ya'd think that stick boy here would quit it and just give up?"

"Nah, he's too stupid and clueless for that," Akane replied.

When they tried to move around him, Kuno moved with them, blocking the schoolgirl and preventing Akane from entering the gate. Nervously, she glanced at the clock and saw that she only had about five minutes left before the bell rang.

"Move it, Kuno. Yer makin us late!" Ranma yelled while taking a menacing step closer. If the move was meant to intimidate the Kendoist, then it was unsuccessful because he was too dense to realize it.

"Ah! My fair tigress, Akane! You have come willingly this morn to accept my proposal of a date!" Kuno spouted while taking a ridiculous pose that he though made him look noble. Unfortunately for him, it only made him look more stupid.

Ranma groaned. He was very sick of hearing Kuno spout shit like this every morning. Just when he was about to get rid of the annoying Kendoist, Kuno launched himself towards Akane and pulled her close towards his chest while spouting, "Fear not, my tigress, I will free you from that vile sorcerer, Saotome!"

Ranma's temper flared at the sight of Kuno holding his fiancé. Sure, he could pretend that he didn't care about her, but he also couldn't stand it when someone else decided to touch her. Cracking his knuckles menacingly, Ranma took a menacing step closer and growled, "Let her go or I'm gonna pound ya!"

"No. He's mine," Akane growled menacingly. That growl was so low and threatening that even though Ranma couldn't hear it, he could feel the vibrations and instinctively, he froze. Somewhere deep in the bowels of his being, a spark of instinct warned him of severe dismemberment, should he move a muscle.

Akane glared at Kuno while a growl rumbled from deep within her chest. Her hands curled into fists. She could feel her anger rising at an almost uncontrollable level. The only way Akane knew how to vent her frustrations and anger, was to pound on something. Unfortunately for Kuno, he was her target.

Kuno was completely lost in his fantasies as he continued spouting flowery nonsense, "Oh Akane, once I defeat that foul cretin Saotome, we shall marry and have many children".

The growling became louder as Akane's anger mounted. Now, even Ranma could hear it, and even though he knew that Kuno was about to be in serious pain, he couldn't bring himself to interfere. Just as he was about to look away, Ranma saw something almost imperceptible pass in front of Akane's eyes before it was gone in an instant. Before he could ponder upon it, something inside of Akane snapped and she bared her teeth in an imitation of a smile.

Reaching out, she grasped onto Kuno's wrists, making sure to squeeze them until Kuno loosened his grip upon her. Then, before he knew what hit him, Akane lit into him with such ferocity that the air was literally turned blue with his screams of pain.

"Akane?" Ranma whispered in shock, while he stayed absolutely still, he was not even sure of what he was seeing. His tomboy was literally beating the shit out of Kuno again without even trying. It was like her strength had literally quadrupled overnight. "Akane, Stop it!" he yelled while wincing in sympathy when Akane grasped Kuno by his privates, literally lifting him off the ground and dragging him across the courtyard, screaming bloody murder.

"Do you see what Akane is doing to him again?" Hiroshi whispered.

"Yeah, do you think he's going to be able to father children in the future?" Diasukai whispered, flinching as more screams of pain echoed throughout the courtyard.

"I don't know about that but, we'd better call an ambulance," Nabiki said as she walked up behind them. Her face was white as a sheet. She couldn't believe that her little sister, Akane was doing this to Kuno. Turning towards the pigtailed boy, Nabiki choked out, "Do something before she kills him!"

Glancing towards his future sister in law, Ranma squeaked out, "Me! What do you want me to do?"

"Stop her, you baka!" Nabiki yelled as her mask slipped and revealed true fear. Yes, she was afraid of her sister at this moment. Never had Akane done anything like this before in her life; not even when Ranma accidentally walked in on her in the bathroom. But, this had been going on now for a week straight.

Ranma glanced towards Akane and gulped. Mustering his courage, he jumped into the fray, pulled a growling and snapping Akane away from the twitching pile of pitiful human flesh, known as Kuno and yelled, "That's enough Akane!" But, even that was not enough to stop her as she continued to struggle in the pigtailed boy's arms.

During the past week, Ranma had come to realize that he couldn't hold her for very long. So, his only solution was to use a pressure point technique to effectively knock her out. Shifting his grip, he lifted an unconscious Akane into his arms; glancing towards his future sister in law with a scared look, he whispered, "Nabiki, I think we should take Akane to see the old ghoul. She might know what's going on with her, and maybe she might be able to fix it. Ya gotta admit that this happening five times in a row…in the same week, isn't normal."

It was with those words and the look in Ranma's eyes, that Nabiki realized that something was very, very wrong with Akane.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Neko-Hanten.

Ku-Lon sat on a stool while going over the kitchen's inventory, biting her lip in thought; she glanced up to watch the activity in the dinning room and saw her granddaughter, Shan-Pu weaving between tables balancing several bowls of Ramen in one hand while smiling cutely at an elderly customer.

Smiling, Ku-Lon glanced back towards her list but, just before she could make a notation, the bell rang, signaling that more customers had entered the Neko-Janten.

Not bothering to glance up, Ku-Lon yelled, "Mu-Tsu! Show those people to an empty table!" Then she signed and muttered, "Let's see, we need hmmmm". But, her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Hey! Old Ghoul, something's wrong with Akane and we can't figure out what it is. Can you take a look at her," Ranma asked as he stopped in front of the counter, Akane still held in his arms. The pigtailed boy could still hear Mu-Tsu in the background and glanced over his shoulder to see the blind martial artist talking to a support beam.

"How many in your party sir?" Mu-Tsu asked politely to the blurry shape. When he received no answer Mu-Tsu repeated himself. "Sir I asked you, How many?"

Nabiki entered right behind Ranma, and rolled her eyes while she muttered, "Oh for heavens sake, Mu-Tsu. That's a support beam, not a person. Put your glasses on!"

Shan-Pu heard his voice and yelled, "Airen! You come to see Shan-Pu, yes?"

"No!" Ranma growled while shifting his grip on Akane. She was beginning to become very heavy as his arms began to tire. "I came so your grandmother could take a look at her. Something is seriously wrong with her. She almost killed, Kuno for the fifth time this week."

Shan-Pu frowned in puzzlement, shrugged her shoulders and replied nonchalantly, "That normal behavior for violent pervert girl."

"Yeah I guess so but, she was growling like a dog!" Ranma replied; something in his voice gave the Chinese Amazon a hint of unease. Curiously, Shan-Pu inquired, "What happened?"

Ranma sighed before launching into a detailed description of the past weeks events. He didn't notice that Ku-Lon had put her paper aside to listen. "...So, that's why we came here."

Nabiki stepped forward and replied, "This has been going on since after that strange monster left."

"I see," Ku-Lon replied, frowning. Hopping down from the stool she made her way towards the pigtailed boy and closing her eyes, she called upon her Ki to look with her other sight and found a strange disturbance in the Tendo girls' aurora.

Frowning, Ku-Lon tried to determine what it could be but, she wanted to make sure of her hunch. Turning towards Ranma she replied, "I'll have to consult with the elders in China. They may have an idea as to what troubles Akane."

"You mean you don't know?" Nabiki asked, skeptically.

"Well, I have a hunch but, I'd like to double check it. And if I'm right, then Kami help us all," Ku-Lon replied.

Frowning, Nabiki placed a hand on her hip and growled, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"If ya know somethin old ghoul, ya better tell us even if it is a hunch!" Ranma growled as his frustration about the current situation hit an all time high. Ku-Lon glared at the boy but, before she answered, her granddaughter interrupted her.

"Great grandmother?" Shan-Pu said.

"Yes Shan-Pu what is it?" Ku-Lon replied, brushing a stray lock of hair away from Akane's neck while checking for any distinguishing marks.

"Do you think she's turned into one of the damned ones?" Shan-Pu whispered fearfully in Chinese.

"It's too early to tell but, I prey that she hasn't since I've really come to like the Tendo's. Akane is also very special, but if she is one of the dammed ones then we will have to go hunting," Ku-Lon replied in Chinese as she turned away from the Tendo girl to seat herself upon a stool near the phone.

Turning towards Ranma she replied, "Calm yourself. I know you're worried about her but, I don't want to be wrong," Ku-Lon signed while pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Oy! Stop taking in Chinese and tell us what you think it is," Ranma growled angrily. Clenching his teeth, he whispered, "If there's anything you can do please..."

Shaking her head, Ku-Lon frowned and replied quietly, "I have reason to believe that she is turning into one of the damned ones."

"What the hell does that mean?" Ranma growled while unconsciously clutching Akane tighter.

"Elder, please tell us what being a dammed one means," Nabiki asked.

Nodding, Ku-Lon decided to inform them about the meaning of the name but, decided to leave the part about hunting out of it, "First thing you should know is that we have not encountered one of their kind in over three hundred years. As far as I know, the damned ones have the ability to change form during a full moon. It is said that they have no control over their blood lust and kill indiscriminately, they are very dangerous. It is said that only their soul mate can save them. But, that is rare in this day and age."

"And you think Akane is turning into one of them?" Ranma yelled angrily. He couldn't believe what the old mummy was telling him. His mind refused to accept it and he yelled, "Well, I don't believe you! She can't be turning into a monster!"

"I'm sorry but, as I said, I didn't want to say anything if it turns out to be false," Ku-Lon replied while shrugging her shoulders. Turning her attention towards the phone, she lifted it off the hook and continued, "Why don't you take Akane home. I want you to keep an eye on her and don't let her out of your sight."

"Why?" Nabiki asked curiously.

"Tonight the night of full moon and if anything happen, it happen tonight," Shan-Pu interjected in broken Japanese.

"Ok. We'll take Akane home and I'll keep an eye on her, but I think you're wrong old ghoul!" Ranma growled as he marched out the door. Nabiki glanced towards the elder and shrugged her shoulders. "Make sure you give us a call and let us know what they find out," she replied, before following him out the door.

Ku-Lon watched the two walk out of the restaurant and muttered, "Kami I hope I'm wrong," before dialing the Jousenkyo Guide's phone number.

As Ranma and Nabiki walked down the street the silence between them was so profound that you could cut it with a knife. Nabiki was the first one to break it, clearing her throat, she murmured, "Ranma, do you think you'll be able to watch Akane all night?"

"Ah, I think I can manage. I just hope that your dad doesn't think anything of it. Even my Pop will see this as a chance to knock me out tomorrow and make both Akane and I get married," Ranma grinned wryly. "Don't sweat it, Biki-chan, I'm gonna watch Akane no matter what. I just hope that she's not cursed like Cologne said."

"What will you do if Akane is cursed?" Nabiki whispered, worriedly.

Ranma paused in the middle of the sidewalk as a blank look entered into his eyes before he shrugged, "I don't know. But, if she is, then I'll have to stop her somehow. I just hope I don't die trying."

After ten minutes of walking they could finally see the dojo but, before Ranma could open the front door, Nabiki gripped his shoulder firmly and whispered, "Don't say anything to daddy about this or he'll flood the living room or...worse...he'll have a complete breakdown again...like he did when mother died."

"Ok. I won't," Ranma agreed, before carrying Akane up the stairs and into her room before anyone could see them. Quickly, he made his way over towards Akane's bed and carefully set her down. Then, he stretched his arms, loosing them before settling himself on Akane's chair for a long sleepless night. Sighing, he glanced towards the clock, absently noting that the time was 8pm before turning his gaze to watch the rising moon.

Ranma could still see Akane out of the corner of his eye. After ten minutes had passed, he heard someone knock on Akane's door. Getting up, Ranma quickly opened the door to see Kasumi standing out in the hall with a covered trey, "Ranma, I've brought you some strong tea to make sure you stay awake tonight. I'm sure you want to keep an eye on Akane."

"Thanks, Kasumi," Ranma beamed warmly at the eldest Tendo; taking the trey from her hands, he made his way over towards Akane's desk. As he set the trey down, he could hear Akane's door close with a soft snick. Sighing, he sat down in Akane's chair, instinctively knowing that Kasumi had gone to bed. Slowly, he grasped the cup, holding it a moment as his chaotic emotions swirled around in his mind and heart. Biting his lip, he stared at Akane for a moment before downing the tea in one big gulp. Setting the cup down, he slowly reached out his other hand and stroked her cheek in a loving caress and whispered, "Akane, I love you, but I can't tell you or our fathers will get us married." Ranma's eyes softened with a loving inner light that he didn't dare show to their fathers or to anyone, lest someone find out by accident. Slowly, he leaned down and just before his lips brushed hers, he whispered, "Akane, I prey to Kami that whatever happens, you'll know me," before he placed a gentle kiss upon her lips.

He lingered for a few moments longer before breaking contact. Then he caressed her cheek once more, before settling himself back in the desk chair and began his long vigil.

Hours passed and the silence remained his constant companion. Ranma struggled to stay awake. He could feel his eyes struggling to close on their own but, he shook his head to wake himself. "Nnn, I gotta keep my eyes open," he muttered, scrubbing at this tired eyes. Ranma knew that falling asleep was not an option. But, the night had been relatively quiet and uneventful. It was enough to lull anyone to sleep. His eyes felt like heavy sandbags as they struggled to close. Realizing that he really was falling asleep, he shook his head and muttered, "Gaaa, I've gotta stay awake…..maybe I should exercise to get the blood flowin".

Standing up, he began to through a few kata to keep himself occupied. Glancing outside he could see that the moon had finally reached its zenith, _"I better check on Akane again,"_ he thought before turning towards her bed.

As he stood up, he whispered, "Well, so far so good. Nothin's happened yet. I'm sure the old ghoul was wrong about Akane having a curse."

Akane moaned in her sleep at the feel of Ranma's hand caressing her cheek. Subconsciously, she could hear Ranma and tried to awaken but, something held her back. Turning over, she whispered his name, "Ranmaaaa," causing the pigtailed boy to jump back nervously. Glancing around he checked to see if anyone had heard her but, then he signed while wiping his brow free of nervous sweat before sitting down again.

Suddenly, he felt the unmistakable urge to relieve himself. "Aw geese, I knew I shouldn't have drank that much tea." and glancing one more time at Akane's still form, he muttered, "I'll be back in a minute, just don't do anything or go anywhere." before walking out the door and into the bathroom.

In Akane's bedroom, the moonlight made its way steadily towards the figure upon the bed until it touched her face. At first nothing happened but, after a few moments, Akane began to twitch and moan as if she was in great pain. Her twitching soon subsided before her eyes snapped open. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she glanced out the window at the bright circle of the full moon in the sky and thought, _"Oh, how beautiful,"_ but, that thought was wiped out abruptly when, white hot lances of pain suddenly raced throughout her body. Through her pain, she could distantly hear multiple cracking noises, like the breaking and shifting of bones echoed through the room. Fear racing through her, Akane whimpered while gripping the sheets in an effort to regain some sort of control over her body. But, even that small effort was not enough to stop the pain nor control her terror. _"AAAAAAh, what's happening to me!...someone help please!"_

As the pain subsided for a brief moment in time, she flipped herself over until she was upon her hands and knees panting and shivering with shock, before a new wave claimed her; Akane choked back a scream while a new pain raced through her hands and feet and thought, "Oh, please _help me!"_ The pain was excruciating and she watched through the haze that had fallen over her vision as her hands twisted and reformed with loud popping noises and gurgled fearfully, "nnnnnn," before once again the pain continued to torment her.

Akane was vaguely aware as her spine twisted and reshaped itself but, she could not find the strength to breathe normally except in large gasping pants. Her skin itched for a moment in time before another white hot lance of pain erupted from her face as her jaws popped out of place began to elongate, "_Ranma………" _she screamed mentally at the pain. Suddenly, she felt woozy, her vision became spotty and then she only knew blackness as her human consciousness ceased to exist.

Clouds suddenly passed over the bright light of the moon, shrouding the room in utter darkness. When the clouds finally moved away to let the light of the full moon to enter the room, a black wolf with amber eyes stood in the center of the room. Its size was frightening. If Ranma had stood next to it, they would be able to stare each other in the eyes.

Slowly, the wolf paced around the room, restlessly. It felt its stomach cramping with hunger. The need to bathe her fangs in the blood of her kill became her first priority. But, her surroundings were unfamiliar to her. Sniffing the air, the wolf detected the scent of prey but, something in the back of its consciousness screamed that those scents were not prey but, pack. Growling angrily, the black wolf paced in front of the bedroom door uncertainly.

Suddenly, it froze as it detected the sound of footsteps as they neared the door. Quickly, the black wolf backed up into the shadows to conceal itself just in time as the door to Akane's room opened. Silvia dripping from its fangs and snarling, the black wolf sprang upon the dark silhouette of a human boy.

Ranma quietly opened Akane's door and froze in shocked surprise when he noticed that Akane was missing from her bed and whispered her name, "Akane?" Then, as he took a step into the room, something slammed into him, before his ears and eyes registered the sight and sound of a snarling beast.

"Holy shit!" he cried while thrusting out his legs, and pushing the beast off of him. He was desperate to gain some room to fight but, before he could completely stand, the beast lunged for his throat, teeth snapping just inches from the soft vulnerable skin. "Aaaa!" he yelled while grasping onto the beasts throat to keep it from biting him. But, the beast was very strong and it was a struggle to keep its bared fangs from ripping into his throat. Finally managing to take a good look, Ranma felt a sudden chill of fear race down his spine as he beheld the sight of two burning amber eyes that glowed in the dark. Blinking away his fear, he absently noted that the beast he was fighting was a giant black wolf.

As he struggled to gain the upper hand, Cologne's words raced through his mind and he finally realized what had happened to Akane. In his distraction, he failed to stay aware enough to keep the upper hand as the wolf suddenly, lunged forward. The force was enough to knock Ranma on his back. He could feel his arms weakening as the wolf's massive jaws came closer and closer to his throat. Gritting his teeth, Ranma fought desperately for his life. Glancing upward into the face of death, Ranma cried, "Akane! Its me, Ranma!…Please Akane!…Please know me!"

The wolf known as Akane, paused briefly as some deeply buried instinct made itself known. Slowly, the madness began to ebb away. Some sort of recognition flashed through her eyes. Sniffing his scent, she growled quietly before backing away. Ranma let out a silent sigh of relief. "I knew you would recognize me, Akane," he whispered quietly so as not to startle her. Slowly he sat up but, that relief was too soon as Nabiki's voice startled Akane "What the hell is going on in here!" Snarling, Akane lunged forward and sank her fangs into Ranma's shoulder, he screamed in shock as the pain registered, "AAAAAA!"

"Holy shit, Ranma!" Nabiki screamed, frightened by the sight of a large black wolf in her sisters room. She was even more frightened when the wolf sank its fangs into Ranma's shoulder. Then, as the sound of pounding feet echoed through the hallway as the rest of the family came running, the black wolf released Ranma's shoulder, fangs dripping red blood, she snarled at Nabiki before throwing herself against and through the glass window.

"God dam it, Nabiki! You just had to scare Akane enough that she bit me!" Ranma growled as he covered the bite wound with his hand. Rushing to the window, he made it in time to see Akane make a graceful landing, before she turned her head towards the window for a brief moment.

Ranma, gripped the windowsill and called, "Akane, please come back! Akane stared into the boy's eyes and something within both of them tugged at their souls. Lifting her head, Akane the wolf howled longingly for her mate to join her, before she glanced at Ranma once more. They locked eyes for a moment and in that split second, Ranma felt something primal pass between them before she whirled on her paws and dashed out of the yard and through the city.

As he watched her run, Ranma tried to throw himself out the window to chase her down but, he was held back by both Akane's father and his own. Heart wrenching with the pain of loss, Ranma howled her name to the moonlit sky, "Akaneeeeee!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4.

A moment after Akane had disappeared from sight; was then Ranma noticed the shooting pain in his shoulder. "Fuck!" he moaned as grunting, he fell to his knees panting, his shoulder protested the sudden movement. _"She didn't mean to do it, Akane was just startled, "he thought._ Shuddering from the intense pain, he reached up with his good hand and grasped the wound to stop more of his blood from splattering on the tatami mats. He was afraid to look at it for fear of the amount of damage the bite might have cause. Even the minor action of grasping his shoulder to staunch the flow of blood almost sent him into the pits of unconsciousness. He could hear the Tendo's and his father's sudden movement to support him in case he fell.

"Easy there Ranma," Genma whispered in a caring tone as he placed his hand upon the boy's good shoulder. Seeing his only son wounded so badly suddenly triggered something buried deeply in his unconscious mind. He could feel the rising panic as he noticed the amount of blood gushing from the boys shoulder and thought, _"There is too much blood." _His panic reached new levels when Ranma removed his hand from the wound and began to shiver uncontrollably. _"Is he going into shock?...Yes, I think he is,"_ Genma thought as he moved closer to his son in an instinctive attempt to shelter him. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the almost imperceptible whisper from his son.

"Why?" Ranma whispered brokenly as he stared at the floor. Glancing towards the rest of the family, Ranma's eyes told the tale of unspeakable sadness. It almost made them cry when they heard his broken whisper asking the one question on their minds, "Why did it have to be Akane? Why does this always happen to us?" Ranma clenched his fist as tears threatened to fall from his stinging eyes and suddenly he felt an overwhelming anger consume him and began yelling, his voice slowly increasing in volume as he ranted, "Do the Kami hate us! Do they get some sort of sick pleasure in ruining our lives?"

"Oh Ranma," Kasumi whispered flicking on the lights before she took a hesitant step closer. "I'm sure that they had nothing to do with this. Everything will turn out right in the end, you'll see."

"Yeah! We'll get Akane back and find a cure too!" Nabiki piped up and as she leaned down to look him in the eyes; she violently pushed aside her own feelings and forced a smile to appear upon her lips to try to calm his fears.

Shaking his head, Ranma clenched his teeth and screamed at them, "You don't understand! This happens to us every time we let our guards down! Every single fucking time we begin to relax something like this happens to Akane or me! But, this time….this time I don't know what to do. I…I..." Suddenly, before Ranma could complete his sentence, his eyes rolled up in the back of his head and he fell as unconsciousness claimed him.

"Ranma!" Genma yelled while reaching out a shaking hand he lightly shook him. Anxiously Genma waited for a response from Ranma but to no avail. Panic enveloped his mind as he began to shake the boy harder and mutter, "You need to wake up boy! Please wake up!"

Sensing how desperate the situation had become, Kasumi rushed forward and firmly shoved Genma out of the way while yelling, "MOVE! I NEED ROOM TO SEE!" Swiftly, she scanned his body for injuries only to note that his shoulder was literally pumping vast amounts of blood onto the tatami mats. Even with the pressure Ranma had been putting on the wound, it still refused to stop bleeding. Gently she pushed his hand aside and inspected the wound. Absently, Kasumi thought, _"This is bad. He's loosing too much blood."_ She watched how with each pulse more blood gushed out and suddenly it hit her like a ton of bricks! "Oh Shit!" Swiftly, Kasumi put more pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding before turning her head towards her younger sister and yelling, "Nabiki! Quick, call an ambulance!"

"Why? What's the matter, sis?" Nabiki replied, even as she pulled her cell phone from her pajama pocket. Nabiki knew that for her older sister to curse so openly, that something was definitely wrong. Swiftly, she dialed four-one-one and waited for an operator to answer.

"One of his arteries has been severed! I'm doing all I can to stem the flow of blood, but they better hurry and send a helicopter to get Ranma to the hospital fast!" Kasumi yelled, even as her voice shook with worry even as his blood steadily leaked through her fingers.

Ring

Ring

Ring…click

"Hello! Hello!" Nabiki shouted into the receiver. "Yes. This is an emergency! My sister's fiancé was attacked by something and when he was bitten, the bite severed one of his arteries in his shoulder! You've got to hurry, he's bleeding out!" Nabiki listened for a moment before nodding her head and replying, "I will make sure he's outside."

"Well, what did they say?" Genma asked as he glanced back towards his son. He so desperately wanted to hold the boy, but he knew that in order for his son to live, they needed help fast.

"The emergency service said that they're sending a helicopter and to make sure he's waiting outside for them. Someone is going to have to go with him to make sure that he gets the right type of blood transfusion." Nabiki met Genma's eyes and asked directly, "Do you know Ranma's blood type?"

Nodding his head frantically, Genma gulped and replied, "Yes. Ranma possesses one of the rarest blood types around. He's 'A' positive, and fortunately, I myself have the same blood type."

Kasumi decided that she had better interrupt them before more time elapsed, "Enough talk, we'd better get him outside before that helicopter arrives………" She paused for a moment while listening for the distinct sound of the helicopter blades. Hearing something that sounded like a helicopter she set about giving orders, "Father, Mr. Saotome, please carry Ranma outside, now. I think I hear the helicopter coming."

Gently, the two fathers lifted Ranma and carried him out of the house and into the dark cloudy night. Gently, they lay him upon the ground and waited for the medical helicopter to arrive. "What was it that bit him, Nabiki? What has my little girl become! Is she youkai, mononoke or a monster?" Soun moaned, for once in his life he spoke quietly instead of wailing like a two year old boy.

"She's were," Nabiki replied in a whisper.

"What? I don't know where she is, Nabiki. You just saw her jump out the window!" Soun ground out, his nerves were stung tight as it was and his middle daughter had the nerve to try and tease him! "Tell me what she is!" he yelled, angrily.

"I just did, Daddy!" Nabiki yelled right back. Her own nerves had snapped when she had seen her sister turn into that black wolf. "I just told you that Akane's a were-wolf! And you want to know something else!..." Nabiki paused and waited patiently for her father to respond.

"What? There's more?" Soun replied in a calmer tone.

"Yes, its about Ranma……" Just as Nabiki opened her mouth to speak, the clouds that covered the full moon from view, moved off and bathed the entire backyard in its luminous rays. Suddenly a loud popping and snapping noise erupted into the night, interrupting her conversation with her father. Nabiki shifted her eyes & body towards the sound and found that it was coming from Ranma. Nabiki suddenly cursed loudly, "Shit! Well that just Fucking takes the cake!"

"Nabiki! Watch your mouth!" Soun growled out angrily.

Whirling around to face her father once more, Nabiki screamed out, "Yea well you'd start cursing too since I just found out what could be even worse than Akane turning into a ware-wolf!"

Genma stepped forward and watched in morbid fascination as Ranma's body moved in ways that was not humanly possible and asked, "What is happening to my son! Why are his joints moving like that….What's going on?"

"Snorting at Mr. Saotome's stupidity, Nabiki replied in a shaking voice, "What's even worse is that Ranma is a ware-wolf too! And he's changing now, so I don't think it's a good idea to stick around."

"Why do we have to leave him here, I'm sure Ranma won't hurt us, besides, he's hurt himself," Kasumi murmured, doubtful that Ranma would hurt their family.

Nabiki latched onto Kasumi's arm and began pulling her towards the house, "I'm sure you think so, but Ku-Lon told me that if a cursed Jusenkyo person gets bitten the transformation is almost instantaneous and any wounds that were present at the time of the attack disappear. When he wakes up, he'll be mad with hunger!" Just as they started moving away from Ranma, the snapping and popping of bones and joints suddenly stopped. With the sudden silence, Nabiki glanced over her shoulder to meet a pair of red glowing hellish eyes, eyes filled with the lust for blood. "Oh Kami, Run!!!!!"

The family had just managed to make it into the house and bolt and lock the door when suddenly, a heavy weight slammed against the door. Leaning closer to hear better, Nabiki, panted wildly as she listed. She could hear the loud snarling and growling that Ranma was making and it frightened her. Suddenly, the noise stopped, but another noise sent chills down her spine. It was the helicopter and from the sound of it, it had landed in their back yard. Too afraid to open the door, Nabiki dashed up towards her room to open the window and scream a warning to them. However, just as the words were about to leave her lips, someone screamed. It was the sound of someone in mortal agony. Mixed with those screams were the sounds of snarling growls and the crunching of bones as they were crushed between large fanged jaws.

Not able to do anything more than shudder in abject fear, Nabiki slammed the window closed and fell to the floor. She quivered fearfully with each hair-raising scream and frantically, she covered her ears with her hands in an attempt to block out the screaming. She almost didn't want to believe the horror and the reality that Ranma was a ware-wolf who was at this very moment, eating those poor men alive. Rocking back and forth, Nabiki muttered, "Oh kami, if you can here me, please……please help us." Then, nothing. The night was devoid of noise because the screaming suddenly stopped.

Uncovering her ears, Nabiki listned fearfully for any noise that would indicate that Ranma had decided to come after them, but she was suddenly startled when a distant howl rang out. Pulling herself up off the floor, Nabiki glanced fearfully into the back yard and was met with a horrifying sight. The back yard was littered with the body parts of the EMT's. Shuddering, she covered her mouth to stem the rising flow of bile before searching out Ranma with her eyes. There he was, sitting in the middle of the yard, blood and gore hanging from his fanged mouth in a gruesome display of savagery. His head was cocked as if listening to the distant howl. Then suddenly Ranma threw back his head and howled, "Awooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo". Then, just as suddenly as all this began, he bolted out of the yard and disappeared into the distance.

When Nabiki could no longer see him, she fell to the floor in a tearful heap. She did not know what to do. Ranma had been the only person that could save Akane and now….now he was afflicted with the same curse and it was all her fault. "If I hadn't of startled her, then she wouldn't have bitten him and transferred the curse to him. Oh Kami, what are we going to do!"

* * *

The wind blew pleasantly in her face, bringing to it all the scents of the world to her sensitive nose. Onward she ran, her paws pounded pleasantly upon the ground, digging up the grass as she put more distance between herself and that awful smelly place where the two leggers dwelled. However, that dark furred two legged, the young one, had somehow seemed strangely familiar to her, and those sounds he had been making had pulled at something deep within her conscious mind that it had given her a moments pause before the others had entered the strange cave. Oh, how she had wanted to go towards him, his scent had been very pleasant. Then those others had come, startling her and she had acted upon instinct. Intuitively, she knew that the bite she had given him could be potentially fatal, but that knowledge seemed distant, not important to her now. The only thing that was important to her now was to fill her aching belly. With that thought in mind, she set off in search of her next meal.

Most of the night had passed with little to no results when suddenly; the wind brought to her the scent of wounded prey. It smelled funny, like the two leggers. Nevertheless, meat was meat and she was hungry. Slowly, she crept to the top of the hill to check for the location of her prey. There! At the bottom of the hill were what appeared to be two, two leggers, one smelled female and apparently was fighting the larger of the two. The small one was screaming and thrashing, while the larger one was dragging her towards a thicket. The black wolf liked her muzzle as her stomach gave a low rumbling growl. Not giving it a moments pause, she slowly started to circle her prey. Every thought focused upon the kill, so focused that she failed to hear the almost imperceptible screaming of her human soul. _"Nooo don't! Please don't kill them!"_

Closer, she crept.

……………And closer still.

Another few feet and she would have her prey locked in her jaws and ready to feast upon. Silently, she placed one paw in front of the other until the prey lay right before her, oblivious to her presence. However, when she was but an inch away, the female's eyes somehow noticed her presence and shifted; eyes locking with one another's, the black wolf bared her menacing fangs at her and the female began to scream in abject terror. The noise was irritating to Akane-wolf's ears. So irritatingly loud that it began to anger Akane-wolf that something snapped deep inside of her and before the male could turn around to see what the silly female was screaming about, Akane-wolf had already clamped her teeth around his neck and ripped out his throat in one lethal bite. Then to silence the noise, Akane-wolf clamped her fangs around the woman's neck and wrenched her muzzled violently to the side so that a satisfying snap was heard as she broke the neck of her prey. Dropping the prey to the ground, Akane-wolf began to feast upon their bloody flesh until only the bones were left. Then, belly full and her hunger satisfied, she sat upon the earth and glanced at the beguiling moon for a moment before once more she called for her mate to join her, "Awooooooooooooooooooo!"

Satisfied that her call would echo and travel far, she lay down upon the bloody ground and just before she drifted off into slumber, her call was answered by another. "oooooowwwwwwwooooooo….." It was her mate! He comes! Growling happily, she closed her eyes and dreamed of hunting with her mate by her side.

_No hope is left for the cursed, _

_Your salvation is nowhere to be found,_

_The moon calls to us both, it pulls us towards our fate, _

_With the turning of time, just an instant it takes to change the wheel. _

_Our doom is certainly sealed. _

_Is there hope? Or are we done. _

_Can my love for you undo what has been done?_

_Oh, the moon! Oh how it shines! Can you hear its music?_

_Can you hear the sound?_

_I hear it, my love for it calls me as well!_

_I answer the call with a cry of my own; _

_I too am dammed; with the touch of your fangs my fate is sealed. _

_We are linked! We are one!_

_My soul heard your cry and I come my love, I come! _


	6. Chapter 6

Hello all!

I just wanted to let you know that I'm not dead…just very, very, very busy with college at the moment. I also work a full time job so that doesn't leave me much time to write. Next semester, starting January 18th, I'm taking 5 classes, yep! 5!

I'm going to have even less time to write. However, I do have some stuff written, but I have deemed it not enough to post for your reading pleasure. So, I'm not going to until I have a sufficient number of pages. Please be patient with me as I do intent to finish the stories I have written. It will just be a little slower than usual.

Sincerely,

D-Chan 3.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 5

Ryoga slowly walked though the streets, he was tired and had been traveling non stop since this morning. His clothing had obviously seen better days and now it looked well worn from travel. Pausing, the boy glanced around to get his bearing s and muttered, "It has been a while since I've been to Honshu. I think I need to find a place to eat and then maybe I can catch a bus to Nerima." Unfortunately, he had no idea that he was already in Nerima at the moment and it was doubly unfortunate that he had no idea of the danger that was stalking the streets at this time of night. Scratching his cheek absently, he turned around to make his way towards the restaurant that he had noticed when he had first glanced around. But, before he had taken ten steps, he became drenched as the skies opened up and thunder rumbled in earnest. As the cold water hit him, he screamed in anger, and in midst of the human sounding scream, it slowly turned into that of a squealing black piglet, who became buried in his clothes.

Pausing for a moment, Ryoga panted as the weight of his pack threatened to crush him. Slowly he slipped out from under it, but he knew he still had the problem of getting out of his soaked clothes, which for him was hard since they were drenched and had become saturated with water.

Suddenly, something nudged him while he was still trapped inside his clothes and he instinctively froze. He could feel the creatures hot breath upon him as it panted above him and thought, _"Oh Kami, I hope its not a dog! They like to eat pigs……or it could be a tiger……OH NO, please..oh please don't let it be a tiger. Kami, anything but a tiger!_" Slowly, he lifted his front hoof and nudged his clothes out of the way, just enough for him to get a glimpse of what it was he would be facing. When he was finally able to see it clearly, the blood in his veins froze as the sight of a wolf, the size of a large tiger stood staring at him from above. Ryoga let his gaze travel from the body of the wolf towards its face and almost died on the spot from terror as he noticed the blood covering the wolf's upper body. It was almost as if this animal had bathed in it. He was so afraid that he began to shake imperceptibly. Unfortunately for him, that was a huge mistake because the wolf lunged for him with its jaws wide open!

* * *

Slowly, he left the yard of the Tendo home, his belly sated; he now crept cautiously towards where his instincts lead him. He could barely smell the forest over the foul stench of rotting garbage and exhaust fumes. But, he knew that it was there that he had to go. Suddenly, he froze as a sound reached his sensitive ears. Taking a deep breath, he smelled something so he decided to investigate the strange odor. Turning left, he padded quietly through a dark alleyway towards where the noise and scent originated from. As he reached the end of the alley, he peered around the building, but saw nothing except a pile of clothes that the two legers wore. Creeping closer, he cocked his head to the left before taking a deep breath in order to identify the scent.

Suddenly, the pile of two legger's clothes moved! Narrowing his eyes, Ranma-Wolf waited patiently for it to move again. Slowly a corner of the pile moved just enough for him to see a small eye peering up at him, before the scent of terror hit his nose. Growling happily to himself, he watched as what appeared to be a black piglet, look him over until it locked eyes with him. One thing ran through Ranma-Wolf's mind and it was not food since he had eaten his fill earlier. _"Prey! But, it looks like a toy._" He cocked his head to the right as he suddenly came to a decision, _"No! Not a toy, its prey!"_ Then, he lunged at the piglet with jaws agape, ready to rend and tear it to pieces.

Squealing in abject terror, and with tears leaking from his eyes, Ryoga acted upon instinct and just barely managed to get out of the way in time, before bolting down the street. He didn't have to look over his shoulder to know that the wolf was chasing him; he could hear its claws as they struck the ground and he could almost feel its breath upon his back as it gained upon him. Quickly, he spun about and careened around a corner in a different direction. "God, help me!" He screamed, but unfortunately for him, all that humans could hear was the squealing of a frightened piglet as it ran from a predator.

Suddenly, he could no longer hear the wolf behind him, which in Ryoga's past experience, signaled bad news. Quickly, he changed course and ran down another street; it was a good thing that he did, because just as he jumped off in another direction, a pair of razor sharp teeth clamped together upon empty air as the prey managed to escape the predator in the nick of time.

Growling in anger, the wolf watched as the prey managed to escape again! Narrowing his eyes, the wolf decided that this little piglet was a worthy opponent. And all the while, in the back of his mind, Ranma watched the events unfold, trapped in a world of darkness deep within his mind. No matter how hard he struggled to break free, he had become trapped within his own body while something else had taken control. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get the being to listen to him, but that didn't mean that he would give up. Sensing a disturbance in the beasts' emotions Ranma screamed at it again, _"No! Don't kill him! Don't Kill Ryoga! He's my friend!"_ Seeing that he was not getting through, Ranma turned his focus upon his friend/rival for Akane's hand and screamed, _"Ryoga Run!!!!"_

The presence within Ranma's mind, growled at the interruption of its human half. It knew that once his human side became stronger, he would be in full control, but it would not be an easy battle as with all animals, the instinct to survive is strong. So it would be a battle of wills until one of them won and it had every intention of winning. Slowly, the animal instinct within the werewolf began pushing Ranma's consciousness back, and after a brief struggle, it succeeded. Eyes flashing, the werewolf gave chase once more, and after a brief time of tracking his prey, he finally caught the sound of squealing coming from the left. Rounding the corner, he spotted a black piglet and without a second thought, lunged for it; catching it between his jaws, he crunched down upon the animal as hard as he could.

For a brief moment, the piglet squealed in agony before it finally gave up as its life's blood left him in a bloody rush upon the wolf's tongue. Dropping his prey to the ground, the werewolf lifted its head and gave a triumphant howl tow the heavens. Once the howl died down, he picked up his hard won prey and ran out of the city and into the forest where his mate waited for him.

* * *

At the Tendo's, Nabiki shakily crawled towards the phone and dialed, briefly she waited for someone to pick up, she couldn't seem to stop shaking nor could she stop the tears that ran down her face. Sniffling, Nabiki waited. She was rewarded when Ku-Lon answered the phone.

"Hello, this is the Neko-hanten how may I help you?" Ku-Lon paused briefly to wait for an answer, but when none came, she became irritated. "Look, if you want to order something please answer, if not then, stop wasting my time. I'm very busy right now so either order or get off the phone!"

Nabiki finally managed to get herself under control and croaked out, "K-Ku-Lon its Nabiki," before she broke down into tears once more.

Startled at the broken tone in the middle Tendo's voice, the Amazon elder became alarmed, "What is it child, what's happened! Did Akane turn?"

Nabiki sniffled briefly, and nodded before she realized that the old woman couldn't see her. "Y-yes. Bu-but its w-worse than that!" she replied.

Now fully becoming alarmed, Ku-Lon's lips thinned as she pressed them together. Mustering herself, she asked, "Are you the only one left alive? Did she bite you too?"

Eyes widening in alarm, Nabiki shouted, "NO! She didn't bite me nor did she touch my father, Mr. Saotome or Kasumi! It's worse than that! She bit Ranma and HE ATTACKED THE EMT'S AND ATE THEM!!!!!!" As those words died upon Nabiki's lips, she began sobbing once more. It wasn't long before the elder Amazon got the rest of the story out of her. Once she had all the information, she quietly informed the Tendo girl to take a sedative and stay near her family to wait for her to arrive.

Slowly, Ku-Lon hung up the phone, and before the receiver lay in its cradle, she began rubbing her temples while mumbling, "And so, it has begun." Sighing, she mentally counted to ten before turning towards the front door and flipping the sign so that it read, closed. Then she took a deep breath and screamed in Mandarin, "Shan-Pu! Mu-Tsu! Get your asses down here this instant!

Ku-Lon smiled when she heard the sweet sound of something heavy falling out of bed, before two sets of feet pounding upon the stairs reached her ears. Not more than a second later, two Amazon warriors stood before her. Both appeared to be dressed in their bed clothes at the moment, but that was trivial compared to what she had to say to them. Glaring that both of them, Ku-Lon stifled any verbal protest that were forthcoming and began her speech, "It is time we went hunting. The blood moon is upon us once again and as Amazons it's our duty to rid the world of the threat. Unfortunately, we will not only be hunting Akane, but Ranma as well."

"WHAT!" Shan-Pu shouted. "What do you mean we will be hunting my husband as well? I thought it was Akane we would be getting rid of, not Ranma!" Shan-Pu protested.

"Enough!" the Amazon elder growled. "I just received a disturbing phone call from Nabiki Tendo. It seems that when Akane turned, she was startled enough to bite Ranma. You know damn well that if a cursed Jusenkyo person gets bitten, they turn immediately. And the only way I know to cure a person is to find the original werewolf who bit you in the first place! But! We have no idea where it is! That leaves us only one course of action….."

Mu-Tsu sighed quietly, before murmuring, "I understand, elder. Your will, will be done." Before he slowly turned and trudged up the stairs, with Shan-Pu not far behind.

Not more than ten minutes later, Shan Pu came down the stairs, dressed in full battle regalia and glanced around, "Where's Mu-Tsu?"

"Don't worry child. He will be here soon. It will take him a bit longer," Ku-Lon replied mysteriously. Not more than two seconds after she had replied to her granddaughter, the sound of footsteps upon the stairs reached their ears and caused Shan-Pu to glance towards the sound.

As her eyes spotted Mu-Tsu, Shan-Pu's jaw dropped in shock. Blinking a moment, she tried to determine if she was seeing things. But, after a moment she realized that it was no illusion. Breathing out in a whisper of air, Shan-Pu murmured his name as she ran her eyes over his body, "M-Mu-Tsu?"

No longer was he wearing his long white robes. They had been replaced with a form fitting Amazonian battle suite. The suite itself was covered in a fine, yet amazingly strong chain mail which was light enough that it was almost as if it the warrior was not wearing armor. No. That was not the thing at which made Shan-Pu stunned. It wasn't even the fact that his hair was tied in a topknot, and his glasses were no longer upon his face. The thing that gave her pause and caused her heart to skip a beat was his expression. It was so serious and grim. This, this was the face of an Amazon warrior ready for battle.

"I am ready, elder," Mu-Tsu's voice rumbled out of his chest, a full octave lower than his usual one. Swiftly, he reached backwards and pulled out a long bladed sword and rumbled, "Let's go."

"Wha?" Shan-Pu mumbled. Turning towards her grandmother, she asked, "What's wrong with him? Why is he acting this way?"

Smiling, Ku-Lon replied, "In what way is he acting? He has always been this way and yet you never noticed nor cared to see through his disguise. Mu-Tsu wanted to win your heart through his own efforts and not through battle, but as you well know, things didn't work out that way since the Saotome boy came to our village. Shaking her head, Ku-Lon muttered, "Enough of this, we will talk later, for now, we hunt!" Turning, they swiftly left by way of the back door and unknowingly passed by the shaking form of a little black piglet with a yellow bandana around his neck.

* * *

"_Oh, my pain! _

_Oh my sorrow, why must I kill?_

_Death between my jaws and hunger clawing at my belly, _

_I have slaughtered and eaten the innocent!_

_Cursed with this bloodlust, I we are damed! _

_Oh my love I want to be free!_

_We are trapped within, yet we can be free, _

_Struggle we must, and pray to Kami,_

_Someone, _

_Anyone,_

_Help us….free us…,_

* * *

"AN: HA! You though I had killed off Ryoga didn't you? NOPE! I fooled you!


End file.
